Times
of India: Chennai: Monday, 08 February 2016.
Tamil Nadu
state chief information commissioner K Ramanujam recently filed an online RTI
application to Union tourism ministry and found it easy and simple.
He filed the
RTI to get a feel of the system as Tamil Nadu State Information Commission
(TNSIC) is planning to introduce online system to file second appeals. The move
is expected to help RTI applicants get information without any hassle.
"I
wanted to know how the Centre's online RTI system works. So I asked some
general questions to the Centre's tourism department and they first sent an
acknowledgment through SMS and email and then I got a reply by post," said
Ramanujam.
He said there
is no need to facilitate any payment gateway on the commission's website as
filing appeals under the RTI Act is free. "We have recently provided a
model format on our website for applicants to file appeals in English and
Tamil. This helps applicants to have a fair idea to file second appeals,"
he added.
Second
appeals are filed by RTI applicants if they fail to get replies to RTI
applications and first appeals from public information officers and appellate
authorities of government departments respectively. The Centre's website -
www.rtionline.gov.in - was launched in 2013 to enable citizens to file RTI
applications and first appeals online and has received an overwhelming response
from applicants.
R
Saiyasodharan, an RTI activist and coordinator of the NGO, Gray Face of India,
said the TNSIC's decision to initiate an online second appeal system is
welcome. "A digital system offers more transparency. The online RTI appeal
will make the appeal filing process easier as one can file it from home without
going to the post office," he said.
In November
2014, the Supreme Court asked the Centre and all the states to take a decision
on a PIL seeking the setting up of a mechanism to provide information under the
RTI Act through 'electronic' means.
Several
states like Maharashtra and Bihar have facilitated online RTI filing systems on
the lines of the Centre's website. However, the TN personnel and administrative
reforms department, the nodal agency for the RTI Act's implementation in the
state, has so far not taken any steps to facilitate online filing of RTI applications
and first appeals.